MEXICO CITY (El Universal).— From David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco and Diego Rivera, the three great Mexican muralists who have been talked about and studied so much, it seems that there is nothing new to say or see about their work. … until now. In the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, where the muralist movement was born, an unpublished painting by Rivera is exhibited.
It is a portrait of Ricardo Flores Magón raising his fist in front of a blaze of fire and being cheered by Mexicans who carry rifles and a sickle.
The piece is part of the exhibition “The spirit of 22: A century of muralism in San Ildefonso”, curated by Carmen Tostado.
This is the first time that “Portrait of Flores Magón” (1947) has come out of what was the office of General Lázaro Cárdenas, explained Eduardo Vázquez Martín, executive coordinator of the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso.
“What Cuauhtémoc Jr. told us is that Lázaro wanted a portrait of Flores Magón, but he did not dare to ask Diego Rivera for it because he knew he was not going to charge for it. So he asked a friend to order Rivera and pay him. When the painting was ready, he hung it in his office and invited Diego to have a coffee and there he found it. General Cárdenas played a funny trick on the painter, ”he explained.
Another work that has not been exhibited before is the painting by Ramón Alva de la Canal titled “Hermenegildo Galeana” (1943), in which the true protagonist is the horse that is behind the insurgent leader.
Beyond these unpublished paintings, the exhibition, which arose from an investigation by academics from the Institute for Aesthetic Research at UNAM and which brings together 246 works, aims to put a spotlight on all the minds that started and were part of the movement. muralist, but which were overshadowed by “the big three”.
“In this exhibition we don’t tell the old story, but we focus on some of the areas of muralism that have been darker over time, for example the great companions of muralism, such as Javier Guerrero, who was an assistant to Rivera and Siqueiros; he was a hacienda mural painter, he decorated them. He was already doing muralism when muralism was just beginning, he brings the almost pre-Hispanic mural culture. That’s why we gave it a prominent place. The helpers were not cleaning brushes nor did they do what the muralists ordered them to do, but were artists with their own work and language,” said Vázquez Martín.
Máximo Pacheco, Amado de la Cueva and Luz Jiménez, the Nahua woman and translator into Spanish and French who modeled for the muralists, are some of the figures that the exhibition recognizes.
In addition, there is work by Fernando Leal, Jean Charlot, Fermín Revueltas, Orozco and Siqueiros.
The exhibition not only looks to the past, but also reflects on muralism in the present, with the participation of contemporary artists such as Paola Delfín and Pilar Cárdenas, who reinterpret concepts and techniques.
The exhibition will be open to the general public until June 12, 2023 at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, in the historic center of the metropolis.